The real stories from inside the F1 paddock

A weekend in Austin (well, nearly)

Wow! That was quite a weekend. We did not get to see anything of Austin, my only visit to downtown was a couple of hours as a guest at a dinner in a fancy steakhouse on Friday night. The rest of the time was spent at the circuit or at a hotel next to the freeway, which was decently priced and perfectly utilitarian. Today (Monday) and tomorrow are going to be spent working in the mornings and discovering the city in the afternoons. And then, just as all the Americans are getting ready for Thanksgiving, we will be off to dodge the bullets in São Paulo, where it seems the cops and the drug dealers are now in a state of open warfare… Oh joy.

Last night as we were driving back from the circuit, having decided to work in the hotel environment for a change, we were discussing life as F1 journalists these days. DT made the point that this year we have done more travelling than most people do on their lifetimes. We have had some pretty interesting adventures as well, notably in Bahrain, but on top of that we’ve been pretty much everywhere. We whinge about it a bit, but it is a great way to spend one’s life. I was trying to get this across to one or two of the US writers in Austin and, as usual, I came back to the old description: when you are kid you want to run away and join the circus. We did!

Anyway, Austin was a huge success and it will be great For F1. There was huge spectator interest and the journalists were there is large numbers as well, including such publications as The New Yorker. This is just the way to get teh word about F1 spread across the States. The Circuit of the Americas was the perfect venue and the racing was tense and exciting all the way. There were 117,429 spectators on race day, many of them who had never seen F1 before. And there were many more out there watching on TV.

One thing that many F1 veterans said in Austin was that the city reminded them of Adelaide, in Australia, where F1 had races from 1985 to 1995. Adelaide was special. We all loved it and on the morning of the last race the F1 mechanics gathered on pit straight and waved a sign saying “Thank You Adelaide” to the crowds in the grandstand. It was unprecedented and completely spontaneous. It was no PR stunt. It came from the heart.

There were 210,000 there to watch that last race and over the weekend the four-day attendance figure hit 520,000 – which is an impressive number in a city of a million souls.

Adelaide was a favourite in F1 not just because of the great organisation, the exciting race track, not even because of the topless hairdresser. It was loved because of its party atmosphere. You knew that it was going to be fun when you arrived at the airport and found a jazz band playing.

I think the key is that a million residents means that the Grand Prix is a big enough event to dominate the town, rather than being swallowed up by it, as happens in cities where there are three million or more. We all love Melbourne, but it is still not Adelaide.

When F1 comes to a town with a million people everyone knows about it and they are proud of it. Almost all of them embrace the event and get involved in some way or another, even if that only involves partying with the visitors. The result of that was Adelaide was not just a race meeting, it was a carnival and people came to town for the party, not just the race. And that was important because it added to the economic impact of the event.

Austin, which interestingly counts Adelaide as a sister city, will be like that given a little more time. It will help that in the years ahead there are plans to build up interest. There will be a Mexican Grand Prix in 2014 and hopefully there will be a second US race in New Jersey as well. That would give the sport five races in the US time zone, alongside Brazil and Canada. That would mean a sensible TV package could be found and the following can be increased. There are even whispers that F1 is trying to negotiate a deal to take over the IndyCar race in Long Beach for 2016.

That would be great.

From these kind of foundations, other things will grow. We want to see a US driver who can hack it with the best in the world, and we would love to see a US team in F1, run by a Roger Penske or a Chip Ganassi. If that one day happens and F1 becomes big in the US, the one thing we will be able to say with some certainty is that it all began that day in 2012 in Austin…

I certainly hope so.

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Joe, Long Beach was before your time in F1, but do you really think the old Long Beach circuit would work? I live in Long Beach, and drive on those roads that the circuit is built on. I don’t feel that it’s up to snuff. It feels a bit undersized for today’s F1 cars.

It was great. I’ve never answered so many questions about F1 my life. If you started answering questions in the bleachers then you’d have a crowd waiting their turn. Austin has always been an amazing city but I feel like it really took its standing to the next level by blasting people’s expectations out of the water. Bring on Moto GP in April and V8SC in May!

The on-site commentary team did a great job between sessions and before the race explaining how F1 works – qualifying, DRS, KERS, Pirelli compounds etc. Of course you couldn’t hear a word from them once cars were on track but I think they did a lot to get the crowd educated.

I wonder, how do you feel about going to São Paulo? I know you felt somewhat uncomfortable about going to Bahrain; but personally I wouldn’t feel very comfortable going to Brazil either (for the record, I’ve never been there). How does it compare to the Bahrain situation? Have you ever felt unsafe there?

Probably because the Andretti family is too smart to put their own money into a race team (one reason each of their IndyCars have different liveries for different sponsors). Another reason is that it is currently hard enough to get sponsors to cough up a relatively small (relative to F-1 that is) amount of cash to fund an IndyCar team or NASCAR. F-1 has a way to go as far as popularity before you are going to find a surge in U.S. sponsorship willing to throw down. Those that are willing already sponsor current teams.

The “problem” in looking at Adelaide and Melbourne is that Adelaide was always the last race on the calender, teams would arrive ready to party, all good. The when the teams moved to Melbourne, the next race the following season, the teams came to contest a championship, they were all business, no partying and the Australians were confussed, no fun F1 teams, so I dont think they have ever embraced the event.
The only way to find out would be to return to Adelaide and make it the first round of the champinship, not going to happen, plus the era of “fun” teams is over, glad I was there when it was fun, party on.

It’s great to hear such positive comments from you about this event. It’s a bit of a shame you couldn’t take in some of the festive Austin that so many of us love. I couldn’t make the trip this year, but, watching it on TV sat here in Western Colorado, the crowds looked surprisingly big, and the facility and racing were both tremendous. Motorsport here in America has taken a huge leap forward, more than I ever expected or hoped to see during my lifetime.

From your unique perspective,how did the facility stack up against the others you visit in the course of the season (and of course, was there free WiFi there at the track and in your hotel)?

Roger Penske spoke of his desire to win Le Mans on national TV yesterday, but, not a whisper regarding F1, unfortunately. Perhaps this event will spur sponsors toward piquing his interest.

As always, thanks for your insights, and safe passage in Brazil. I’m still in shock that the Olympics are to be held there, given all the strife and crime to be dealt with. I look forward to your comments on your visit there, as well.

To take over the IndyCar race in Long Beach for 2016 would be great, but I don’t think Long Beach is or will be in a position to make the substantially larger financial commitment compared to the IndyCar fee.

It’s such a shame. You can thank Bernie and rapacious greed for the loss of Adelaide in favour of Melbourne too.

I mean, why have hugely successful and much loved events like Adelaide, which was overwhelmingly positive for the F1 circus when the alternative is to gouge vast sums of money from countries with no history nor apparent interest in the sport and move on after a handful of years when the money runs out, making the whole show look transparently mercenary. Nothing very positive for the fans or the rest of the travelling show but so what…..

I’ve been to F1 at Long Beach and would urge Bernie not to do it again. Street courses are too confining, too difficult to spectate at, and the Long Beach course is in a rough part of town. I’d much prefer Laguna Seca.

Well if we’re gonna indulge in utter fantasy let’s throw in Road America and Road Atlanta, two iconic tracks that fans have yearned to see F1 at for decades. Maybe post-Bernie. Meanwhile, I really fear ISC buying up all traditional U.S. tracks of note.

I live in LA, and attended the Indycar race in Long Beach in ’87, 95, and ’96. I can tell you Long Beach used to be mostly retired people and gang members, and that part of town was bad. In the 90’s they started fixing it, and now it’s the nicest big city downtown in LA area, and super safe. Public transportation (LA Blue subway/elevated train, yes we have them here) will drops off 2 blocks from the track.

If they did a major revamp to the course, repave it, widen it everywhere they can, it could be great. Kers coming out of the last hairpin corner, deploy the DRS down the curving main straight, I think it could me very good. Indycar isn’t popular here, and they still get a massive crowd, 3 times that of the Oval race 45 minutes East of Downtown LA in Fontana.

The event certainly held my interest. Most of the drivers seemed to like the circuit and there were more overtaking possibilities than was forecast – I loved the start straight and first corner which televised well. Joe, I was surprised at the moaning concerning Massa’s gearbox ‘problem’ and the elevation of Alonso up the grid. Come on, there’s a championship at stake – wouldn’t Red Bull do the same?

Arguably, it’s one thing to shuffle components around in your own team, but what’s interesting about the gearbox situation is that it wasn’t just penalising Massa to favour Alonso-compared-to-Massa; it was penalising Massa to favour Alonso-compared-to-everyone-else. It’s a difficult thing to put into words, but fundamentally what Ferrari did (and it’s evident success) asks some difficult questions.

Before we go any further, I’m going to point out that Ferrari made absolutely the right call, the deliberate penalty to Massa to push Alonso (and Massa, lest we forget) to the clean side of the grid was the kind of genius which also produced double diffusers, F-ducts, double DRS etc etc.

The only worry, to my mind, is that it sets a dangerous precedent. What if another team had done the same thing, say Lotus with Grosjean? (For this scenario, it helps to imagine that someone else had qualified between the two Lotuses to put them both on the clean side) Then Ferrari (and other rivals?) find themselves on the dirty side of the grid. What if someone else (Mercedes?) deliberately gets a penalty? It could decend into farce as everyone takes penalties to improve their run to the first corner.

That’s the only reason to criticise the trick, because the loophole in the rules has potential to cause havoc.

Austin has been a roaring success and unexpectedly, a new Tilkedrome circuit actually produced exciting racing (although the long straight in the middle sector – a Tilke trademark – again seems unnecessary and could be modified in all honesty). It was fabulous to see so many fans in the stands and the drivers seem to revel in the enthusiastic atmosphere as well.

I have to say the grid girls are gorgeous. Definitely a motivation for the drivers to try and secure at least a 3rd place in future so that they can have the pleasure of seeing them in the podium preparation room at the end of the race as Ham/Vet/Alo did on Sunday!

Hey Joe,
As an Adelaidian, this blog entry really warmed my heart and made me feel proud. The F1 days will always go down as a special time in our little city’s history. As much as the authorities have tried, nothing that has ever come since (including the V8 race, ALMS in 2000 and the Cycling) has come close to that feeling we had back then. So, thank you for your very kind words. While it would be nice to reminisce and wonder ‘could we do it again’, F1 has moved beyond our little city/big town and it would be nothing but a dream.

As for Austin – I can’t believe how impressed I was seeing that on the TV. Sure, the race helped (what a cracker!), but the facilities and the amount of people – WOW! As long as it is sustained, I think that has definitely gone on my F1 Bucket list.

Fabulous article Joe, I had visited the amazing party atmosphere of Adelaide once, in 94. It was astonishing how much the event was embraced by the locals, the Adelaide main street of an evening would be cut off to traffic, people parading everywhere moving from pub to pub, merchandise store or restaurant. Everyone was there for the same reason and everyone was happy to meet and talk to you. You are right about the impact these large events have on smaller cities as I experienced something similar for the Red Bull Air Race in Perth.

I have been to Austin too ( yes I get around, not like you though) and it is a fabulous city and not far from beautiful San Antonio ( I thoroughly recommend you visit). It is heavy in it’s university presence and IT industry as major IT companies like Dell are based there. Very knowledgeable and savvy population there and it’s no surprise F1 was embraced. Jersey on the other hand goes against this small population theory we have mentioned in this article. Will F1 be a mere sideshow in Jersey or can it also be embraced due to the innovative circuit and approach that is being planned. Can’t wait to find out…

I have to say that the venue, the race and the entire atmosphere surrounding the new USGP has exceeded my expectations. As an F1 fan here in the US I’m so glad that it was a success, I hope that this is part of a trend and interest in the sport grows as it should if properly nurtured.

I hope New Jersey picks up the gauntlet and puts together a quality race that builds on the momentum just started by Austin.

Joe, love your sentiment about Adelaide and the parallels you drew with Austin. There’s no question that Adelaide welcomed the GP and you did feel it the moment you stepped off the plane. I think it also helped that the circuit was almost part of the fabric of the city, given it’s close proximity to the CBD, and the fact that it’s presence spilled over to a broader population attracting more than the traditional race fan. Sadly Melbourne hasn’t embraced the race in the same fashion. Interesting too that the annual touring car race, on a modified Adelaide GP circuit, now attracts a consistantly healthy attendance (average 270k over the last three years) and is not unsurprisingly more beneficial financially for the city of Adelaide. Still, it will never have the allure of the great qualifying battles and dramatic finishes that we enjoyed from the Prost, Mansell, Senna, Hill & Schumacher eras.

yes, it’s really the time zones that kill F1 in the US. if i’m reading this blog, you can assume i’m an avid F1 fan, yet i will have watched less than half the races this year because they’re not on at a sensible time for me on the east coast.

if luca di montezemelo’s wish for sunday evening race broadcasts in europe comes true, i won’t be complaining. however, that probably screws audiences in asia, so i wouldn’t actually advocate for that without knowing what would make sense for overall viewership.

(yes, i could record races and watch later, but in the age of information overload, that doesn’t work for me, and i speculate that it doesn’t work for the casual american fan either. also, sporting events tend to be social occasions here, and neither 5am starts nor recorded earlier broadcasts are particularly compelling…)

CTP, you’d be surprised how quickly you learn to avoid “certain” websites, subscriptions to blogs (ehem…) that give away the result of the qualifying/race in their post titles, etc etc.

As an avid F1 fan on the East coast just like you, I don’t have cable for the past 4 years (mind you it was only to get SPEED F1 coverage before that too), and I don’t find it the least nuisance to have to wait till the afternoon to watch the races. And in those 4 years, I have missed only two races.

Yes, it takes some getting used to, yes, it is not ideal but it works. And it works great once you have family that requires your time during the live coverage. Recorded/online coverage gives you the flexibility you need at those times.

I live in AUS and record all the races to watch delayed, on Monday nights. Like Ihsan, I’ve given up the internet on Mondays post-GP weekends to avoid any chance of the race being spoiled. I don’t even go to the tea room on Mondays in case I see a head line or over hear someone’s comments.

I am VERY happy that it went so well in Austin. I was a bit apprehensive when I first saw the track during practice (On TV) but it showed very well for the race. My wife (A genuine and long time F1 fan.) kept saying “Wow what a great track!”

I really hope it goes from strength to strength. But I would like to know were Joe stayed because the prices for rooms that I and my other F1 fan friends were finding were just too expensive for what was being offered. And we are all people who have been going to various races for a number of years.

Regardless, it is thrilling to hear the positive feedback from so many people about the American Grand Prix.

Adelaide was like a carnival & i used to say that if you were not into the GP you still had the time of your life , jump on a bus & it was full on chatter , every shop was decorated in racing theme , not to mention 24hrs everything .

Its interesting to get your comments on Adelaide and Austin, I was a mad F1 fan for many years before that. But being in Australia at that time met we were very distant. The F1 coming to Adelaide changed the scene in Australia for the better.

I sincerely hope that next year they once again bring tires lacking the grip they are used to. I think it helped to provide an awesome race that wasn’t marred by marbles all over the place reducing the track to one line.

A decently priced hotel. Ha! I’m glad you didn’t get taken advantage of too badly. Maybe we will try harder next year (I hope not). I loved the race and did my part to spread F1 fever to my fellow Texans by dragging three other people along with me. It was nice to have a multilingual person in my party. We loved conversing with all of the people from different cultures as much as the race. We met all sorts of people ranging from students to racetrack owners and everyone in between. Hope you enjoy Austin and think about hosting An Evening With “Texas Joe” next year!

Joe,
Your maths have been corrupted by spin masters in Australia. The Adelaide figures are wrong. Enough said about them as I’m in Melbourne.

As for Melbourne, the circuit is full with fewer than 70,000 specators on race day. You need primary level maths to realise 25,000 grandstand seats and a few viewing mounds with several thousand at most on them don’t add to the figures quoted by your friendly organisers. If you don’t believe me, look at the telecast carefully and you’ll see the claimed attendees are simply not there. It’s the local joke over here – if you want a big crowd at your event, ask the grand prix people to do the count for you – but….as distinct from all our real events, our grand prix is predominantly paid for by taxpayers, so the pain is worse when they try to con us.

Joe, glad you liked Austin and we’re very happy to have F1 here. The last race I went to was Detroit ’85. I really enjoyed seeing the “Circus” in person again and I didn’t even have to leave town to do it. Make sure you dodge the bullets in Brazil and thanks for an excellent blog.

That Adelaide comparison is very similar to the Macau Grand Prix, which happened over last weekend, too. Macau has only about 800,000 residents and when the F3 Grand Prix, WTCC and Motorcycle Grand Prix comes to town, the whole place is abuzz with racing.

Great article Joe, It has brought back so many memories of the Adelaide Grand Prix. (grand prix mechanics selling REAL team gear for beer money was one of the good memories) The total athosphere in the whole city was much better than Melbourne as Adelaide city encompassed the race with it’s heart. With Melbourne the grand Prix is treated as one of the major sporting events of the city eg (Australian Rules football, Aust Open Tennis, Spring racing carnival).

PS I once asked the chairman of the Austalian Grand Prix as to why they could not have the Grand Prix as the final race of the season. He said – they could not hold the grand prix at the same time as the spring racing carnival. Fair enough. However that was a few years ago, and with the season ending in late November now (Spring carnival is centered around the first Tuesday in November),the Australian Grand Prix could now again become the last race in the season. Here’s hoping for a change, althought I doubt it.

Maybe a stupid question but why isn’t the race time brought forward a few hours to capture the Asian viewing audience? The Austin GP was at 2am Monday morning in my time zone rendering it virtually unwatchable for anyone with a job.

Brazil is at 11pm Sunday which is just about doable so why didn’t they make Austin a 10am or 11am start so those of us in Asia have the opportunity to view what could have been the season finale?

I am based in Thailand but an 11 pm start my time would be 12pm in HK/SG and Mainland China + most of SE Asia.

I think it is a fair point that the Asian audience may not be the target, despite their Gov’ts pouring loads of cash into stage races. I guess that is about attracting tourists and FDI rather than keeping the folks at home amused.

Speaking of which, no news of the Thai GP for a while. Conspiracy theorists have been all over the 40%+ share of the race fee that Redbull were planning to stump up whilst at the same time the heir to the empire is facing criminal charges for killing a cop with his Ferrari…

How big is the Asian viewing audience? I have no data but outside of Japan I suspect it is small.

Despite all the money being extracted from governments in Asia to build tracks and stage races there, I don’t think there is much interest from real people. Look at the empty grandstands in Shanghai for example.

That was a terrific race, my pick of the season. In fact it was more than just the race, the venue looked great, so much so it is now on my bucket list (to the point of checking out airfares from NZ to Austin!).

In response to Mr B.A.T., Australia, it may cost you, the taxpayer of Victoria, a few dollars from your tax bill per year, but it does what it is supposed to – bring in people to spend money in the fair city of Melbourne. And not just the petrolheads buying team merchandise and beer – my wife is tagging along to do some serious damage to my credit card (and well earned too I add). If it weren’t for the GP we would likely be going elsewhere.

I’m of two minds about the Stetsons on the podium. They were slightly kitschy, but ultimately they worked. Hamilton said something like a surprised, “really?” when one of the girls handed him the hat. It made for a great picture at the end when one of the drivers (Hamilton?) put his hat on Mario Andretti and all four world champions stood on the podium.

I thought i was the only Michael G on this blog. Apparently not. Personally, i hated the stetsons. And i am not to thrilled with Texas in general. But it was a great race and the track looked great on TV and Austin is a nice place despite being in Texas, so ‘m glad it was such a success. I might have to change my mind about Texas…and my name i guess.

Personally I’m fully in favour of attempts to add some local/national flavour to each race – more often that not the TV images beamed back of a given race track could be pretty much anywhere on the planet – at least in similar climates/biomes.

I see it as rather sad that F1 is so homogeneous and hermetic, the sports as a whole only stands to gain if local influences can be used to help engage the local people in their local race.

Agreed on the flags though, I can’t honestly believe that the FIA (or is it the circuit owners?) gain very much by not having a set of actual flags on hand.

Where I was sitting the crowd was really into it, and seemed to appreciate what they were seeing. There was a big collective gasp/wow at the McLaren 2.4sec pitstop for HAM, for example. And by the conversations I could hear people, understood what the 1 second DRS detection gap meant when HAM and VET were chasing each other down.

Everyone in Austin has been talking about the event both before and after. It made a real impact. There was a lot of scepticism beforehand about the circuit, the organization/logistics and whether the NASCAR-loving Texas public would show up. That is all forgotten now.

I’m surprised the Austin owners won’t kick up a stink about a Mexican GP if 40% of their ticket sales came from Mexico for the USGP! A race in Mexico would more than likely be a double header with Austin before heading down to Brazil, unless they have it before or after Canada earlier in the year?

Anyway the Austin race was a corker (apart from the last 15 laps or so) and I can’t wait for Brazil!

First thing that struck me, tuned into FP2, was there truly looked like a healthy and moreover attentive crowd. Hard to tell that on a screen, but it immediately looked good. My televisual memory is going to be forever intertwined with something personal that would distract anyone, but the race, track and (albeit remote) sensation was epic. So sad we didn’t make a long planned meet there (cancelled months ago, sadly plain logistics fail, the average age of my immediate family is well above 60 now) and yet it just looks better for next time.

From my perch afront the murdoch machine, all I want to say is Thanks Austin, and all who went. This one felt like the genuine article, and you guys made it. Not got a buzz like it (and this just on the telly) for a very long time.

Another year passes and that National Geographic issue of Austin, a boyhood favourite, as a boom town, stretching its legs with tract housing and the first high tech firms, is even more present in my mind, so I may be very tardy, but a least now my visit is inevitable.

claygate’s comment is plain awesome. That sounds like a very cool crowd!

I’d love to see an American F1 constructor and as you say someone like a Ganassi or a Penkse would be the best possible solution rather than the USF1 fiasco of a while back. I think they would have to be based in the UK to feed off the know how that is here already and that may be a stumbling block for them although I do recall Penske having an operation in Poole Dorset so maybe….
It’s good to see that America has a true racing circuit for F1 again after all those somewhat dull attempts after the Glen closed down.

What few comments I have heard from Roger Penske about a possible return to F1 is that he can’t figure out a way to to make it work financially. Also keep in mind that while Penske and Ganassi are top dogs (along with Andretti) in IndyCar, in NASCAR they are middle of the pack. Last February “Forbes” magazine rated Penske as the 6th most valuable NASCAR team and Earnhardt Ganassi as 8th.
Bernie ias talking about three races in the States whereas as a few years ago he was saying who needs America and talking about races in Russia, Thailand, Paris and London. Austin w.ill have a race until Bernie decides he find get more money elsewhere.

Great recap, Joe, and congratulations to Austin and the developers. The Austin race looked as good on TV as any. The proper camera angles on the right combinations of curves can beautifully capture the speed and grace of the F1 cars. Some tracks allow for that better than others and it was all there on Sunday.

Thanks for the attendance figure Joe. Fri and Sat would be interesting to know also. I wonder if Tony George was there watching how to do it properly. The cowboy hats were an awesome idea and the 4 champions up there on the podium at the end was the real icing on the cake. Having Mario up there really tied it up nicely to Amercian racing. I watched it with a die hard NASCAR fan by the way and we had no problem watching and enjoying both. We only missed 40 laps of the Homestead race and nothing happened during that time anyway.

And to think people say hosting a race is a waste of money. Adelaide is still remembered 17 years after the last race. I wonder how many tourism ads would need to have been paid for to have the same effect.

Good old Adelaide … reminds me of the Rundle Mall street party on Saturday night before the race. There was a great atmosphere across the city, also because it was the end of season race. It’s a great venue, even now with the V8s.

Joe,
Can you tell us quickly before starting the final gig if there were discussions among journalists at Austin with regards to the 14% uphill portion and the subsequent turn 1?
Looks to me as if it did not become a legendary turn overnight. Some drama was also not forthcoming from the negative camber turns as expected.
I still think it’s a great circuit though!